When I was with Chris Brogan at my annual trade show, EXPO EXPO, I shared that I had not been faithful to my blogging on Trust Agents. So he said what I needed was a “kick in the keyboard”. Consider that accomplished and I am back on board to report how I am using the book, blog posts and other writings of Chris to become a Trust Agent.

On You Tube I found this wonderful piece which was created by brandtailers.

The brandtailers folks  have a You Tube channel which you check out.  In this video, Chris talks about Agent Zero.  Enjoy!!

In the off line world, I am definitely an Agent Zero – a connector.  I have countless stories of putting people together so that they can collaborate with each another, do joint ventures and conduct business activities.  It has been gratifying to watch the “magic” take place as they get to know one another.  With my understanding of the online world – it can be an extension of what I am currently doing.

Every time I listen to Chris Brogan and Julian Smith I am inspired.  There is something in their message that resonates with me.

I was looking on You Tube for a recent interview and saw this one with ABC News and wanted to share it.  They talk about the key takeaways from the book.  I am sure you will find an insight or two.

How can I help you today?

If you ever need a boost from two marketing experts on – Why Blog?? -  Seth Godin and Tom Peters can give you motivation to continue your blogging efforts.  This video which I ran across this morning is inspiring to me.

What is your motivation for blogging?

A very interesting experiment at the Inbound Marketing Summit was Steve Garfield’s.  At the conclusion of his talk, he had all of us with video cameras come to the front of the stage and start recording what was talking place.  We were then to post these videos on You Tube or another provider.  It was a brilliant idea because it gained tremendous exposure for Steve Garfield and the IMB09 (http://stevegarfield.com).

Just think about how you can use that idea for your product, service or website.  I know it is embedded in my opportunity sphere now.  Here is one video and you can see me in it doing my own video.

Now how can you use this idea?  I know it is making me think of different ways of using video in the future.

This video shows I am still trainable!!

Last week at the Inbound Marketing Summit I met a gentleman who provided me with great insights on the use of videos on the internet. We had a chance to capture part of our conversation on this video. This video is a bit noisy from the conference but listen in as Matthew Mamet from Visible Gains gives me some pointers.

Check out his site, I like what they are offering.  www.visiblegains.com

I and the hundreds of attendees have our heads crammed full of new information which needs action – now!!  It was a great event and I plan to share more of my insights of what I learned and how I am applying this new information to increase my influence.

Some documentation to show that  I attended:

A Tweet that matches my sentiments:

Tomorrow I leave for Boston and the Inbound Marketing Summit.  I am like a kid at Christmas – the expectations are quite high.  I attended the IMS in Dallas earlier this year and found it very informative.  But that was before I formulated the idea for Trust Agents 101.  Since then my perspective has changed and I am coming to this event with different agenda.

My arena for the last 25+ years has been face-to-face marketing encompassing trade shows, executive briefings, seminars, etc.   In the social media world, I am a blogger for my own site – Let’s Talk Trade Shows (www.letstalktradeshows.com) and I facilitate two blogs for my Association – the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (www.iaee.com).  One blog is for the Center of Exhibition Industry Research (http://blog.ceir.org) and the other is a brand new site/blog for The Center for Exhibitor and Event Marketing (http://blog.iceem.net)

One of my favorite quotes of Albert Einstein is:

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”

As Mr. Einstein talks about everything being a miracle, it is my intention to see gifts everywhere I turn at the IMS!!  So let’s review the gifts I am anticipating unwrapping at the Conference.

Anticipated Gifts

Renewing business friendships

One of my trade show colleagues will be there – Susan Friedmann, the Trade Show Coach.  She and I will be video taping segments for a future product we are creating together.  Most likely it will be enhanced and enriched via the conference sessions and the conversations we will have with the other attendees.  Susan’s site is www.thetradeshowcoach.com.

Another colleague I will be video taping is Bill Sell. who current serves at the VP & General Manager of CrossTech Media.   We have known each other for over 25 years.  We first met when he was in charge of COMDEX; my firm conducted the first audit of COMDEX back in the 80’s.  I want to capture some of his extensive knowledge and then share it on The Center for Exhibition and Event Marketing’s new site (www.iceem.net).

Learning – from speakers, sponsors and attendees

The lineup of speakers and topics is rich with content.  With the new focus on Trust Agents101, I am anticipating all kinds of ideas to fill in the gaps I have in my business model.

Listening to others – their questions

The Q & A portion of the speeches I have found to be fertile ground for learning.  Some one asks a questions and I learn.  Typically, their question is often something I would not have considered and I am very thankful they asked it!!  The same thing happens in conversations – the exchange occurs and in the process new ideas are shared.

Meeting new friends

There are so many people I have been following on Twitter and it will be fun to now have a face for their Tweets.  I know in advance I will not be able to meet everyone but those I do could form new business alliances and/or just new friends.

Generating New Ideas (to apply now or later)

Just think of the thought leadership that will be there – the intellectual capital of like-minded people; the exchange of ideas will be a constant variable. I will be apart of that conversation stream.

Ah-ha moments – clarity

I am expecting a certain “ah-ha” moment where everything comes together and a new dawning happens.  Look for future blog posts with those moments detailed.

My Gift to those who are there

Where appropriate I want to share my wealth of knowledge and connections with others.  I have always enjoyed being a catalyst in other peoples live and view my time in Boston to continue that facet.

Look for short posts from the event detailing the gifts I am receiving and giving.

And the last gift

To see the Fall colors!!  I have been a leaf-peeper on many occasions.

Next week I will be heading to Boston for Chris Brogan’s Inbound Marketing Summit.  I am really looking forward to the education and the face-to-face time with the other attendees.  The buzz on Twitter is fun to monitor and I am curious to put real faces with the Tweets I am reading.

My goal is to make contacts which can be developed over the next months.

Yes I will come back with business cards to be loaded into my contact database.  But the most important agenda item – getting to know who is there and learning from them.

I am a Trust Agent in-training!!

I am looking forward to expanding my Rolodex not just with names, but  with valued new business colleagues.  I want to give my knowledge and expertise as well as receive.  Look forward to meeting you in Boston!!

Where has this month gone?  Just yesterday it was September 10th – it cannot be the end of the month!!

Well, it is time to re-cap what I did and what needs to be done going forward.  The good news is that the Alexa ranking is now 1,089,162.  When I started out it was 9,466,605.

I had used Grader.com to get a status on the blog when I first started.  And I was planning on using them through the year.  However, when I tried to get my score today, I got this error message:

The URL you have entered could not be processed as a blog. Please visit www.websitegrader.com to grade it as a site.

Sad.  I will re-check this in another week or two and see if I can get a grade on the blog.

For the month of September, I just blogged.  To continue this experiment I need to:

• Blog daily
• Increase my connections via Twitter and LinkedIn
• Add links from other sites to mine
• Comment on other blogs
• Analyze the traffic sources and make adjustments

Next week I will be at the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston looking to learn and apply new knowledge from Chris Brogan and the other speakers.  I am truly looking forward to meeting some of the folks I follow on Twitter.